


The Girl who Cried Dog

by waddiwasiwitch



Series: With and Without [4]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Family Fluff, Gen, Royai Child
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-25
Updated: 2016-09-25
Packaged: 2018-08-17 06:55:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8134423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waddiwasiwitch/pseuds/waddiwasiwitch
Summary: Hayate causes a lot of accidents or so Beth Mustang says. Her father Roy isn't so sure.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Another story from the universe introduced in Family Portrait, where Riza died tragically and Roy is raising their daughter Beth alone.  
> Written for a Drabble request on Tumblr for tea-withbreadandjam.

**The Girl Who Cried Dog**

Roy jumped at the crashing sound from the living room. He turned off the saucepan and ran into the living room. Hayate darted out between his legs as he turned the corner and almost knocked him off balance.  
“Hayate,” he scolded and righted himself.  
Beth stood beside the fireplace, her eyes widened when she saw him.  
“It wasn’t me!”  
Roy frowned at her default response. She was looking at the ground and he followed her gaze to the broken vase on the floor.  
“What happened?”  
“Hayate did it! He broke Mom’s vase.”  
Poor Hayate got the blame frequently when Beth got into a little strife, but Roy usually got her to confess once he pressed her. He was sure this was also the case this time.  
“Don’t lie to me, Beth.” He bored his eyes into hers. “That vase was a gift I gave your mother.”  
“I swear, I didn’t do it!”  
Her hands were behind her back and Roy suspected she was crossing her fingers.  
“Elizabeth, I’m upset about you being careless, but I’m much more angry about you lying to me.”  
Her lip began to tremble. “But Daddy I didn’t do it.” Her eyes welled up and she started to wail.  
Roy’s heart began to sink as he realised she had not been lying. He cursed himself and walked toward her.  
“Oh honey, I’m sorry.” He bent down and held out his arms to her. She turned her back to him, her shoulders trembling. He felt like the greatest asshole in this world.  
He inched closer to her still on his knees. “Come on Beth. Turn around and look at me.”  
She turned around slowly, her eyes wet. “You didn’t believe me.” The tone of accusation on her voice was clear. If only she realised how much it pained him to tell her off. And this made him feel even worse.  
“Sorry Beth, I guess my Dad powers failed me.”  
“Yeah - they did.” She stuck out her lip.  
He reached up to her face and brushed a tear away with his thumb. ‘I’m sorry. Do you forgive me?”  
She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed him tight. That would have to do.  
“A little reminder that adults make mistakes too, baby.”  
“I’m sorry that the vase got broke.”  
He surveyed the damage. “It’s okay - it doesn’t look too bad. I think we can fix it.”  
“With alchemy?”  
“Well we could, but then it wouldn’t be quite the same.” He picked up the most intact part of the vase. “See that crack there at the bottom. That’s from the time I knocked it over, because I was so excited that your Mom was pregnant with you. So, you see every crack has a story.”  
“Daddy, you’re silly.” She smiled at him. “Will you really be able to fix it?”  
“Yes - I think we should be able to glue the pieces together.” He picked up the pieces and nodded. “It doesn’t look too bad. Do you want to help?”  
She nodded enthusiastically and she slid down his body to the floor  
“Will you get some newspaper from the kitchen and put it on the coffee table for me?”  
“Yes Daddy!”  
He rifled through the glass cabinet and found the glue at the back out of reach of curious little hands.  
A tug on his arm indicated Beth’s arrival and he turned around.  
Beth had a huge grin on her face. “I put the newspaper down.”  
“Thanks Beth.” He ruffled her hair. “So, can you tell me exactly what happened?”  
Her smile disappeared. “Um.”  
“Um.. What?”  
“Daddy, I didn’t knock over the vase.” She pulled at the sleeves of her sweater. “I wasn’t lying, but I was playing with Hayate, so I guess it is sort of my fault.”  
Roy sighed. “Oh Beth, why didn’t you say this at the start?”  
“But I didn’t actually knock the vase.”  
He tried hard not to smile. She had certainly inherited his silver tongue that talked him out of trouble many times.  
“Do you think I enjoy scolding, Beth?”  
She just stared at him dumbly,  
“I really hate it, but teaching you right from wrong is the most important job I have. I don’t always do it right, but I need you to know when you have done something bad!”  
“Am I still going to get punished?”  
Roy raised an eyebrow.  
She shrugged her shoulders.“You said you hate scolding me.”  
He laughed despite himself. “Nice try, sweetheart.”

Fin


End file.
